System for controlling the doors of a powered split tailgate

ABSTRACT

A power, split door system for a vehicle includes a first vehicle door and a second vehicle door arranged to be articulated between closed and open positions. A controller controls movement of the first and second doors between the open and closed positions. A collision zone is defined as a region of the door system in which the first vehicle door and the second vehicle door could potentially come into contact with one another. If both of the doors are within the collision zone during powered articulation of the doors, both are stopped within the collision zone and articulated in a reverse direction to the direction they were being articulated in and into either their fully open or fully closed positions in an appropriate manner that avoids collision of the doors or the doors may remain stopped.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/426,198 filed Mar. 5, 2015, which is a national phase application ofInternational Application No. PCT/EP2013/068467 filed Sep. 6, 2013,which claims priority to Application No. GB 1215965.3 filed Sep. 6,2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system for controlling the doors of apowered split tailgate for a vehicle, wherein each door is independentlypowered and controlled. Particularly, but not exclusively, the inventionrelates to a tailgate system wherein a collision zone is defined and inthe event that the first and second vehicle doors are both stoppedwithin the collision zone during a powered articulation, the controlmeans is configured to control the first and second vehicle doors in anappropriate manner that avoids collision of the first and second vehicledoors. Aspects of the invention relate to a vehicle, a control system, apower split door system, a method and a program.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is related to published PCT patent application no.PCT/EP2010/054914 (International publication no. WO2010/119080), to thepresent applicant, which is expressly incorporated herein, in itsentirety, by reference.

In PCT no. PCT/EP2010/054914 (International publication no.WO2010/119080) a vehicle is disclosed which comprises a tailgate at arear of the vehicle. The tailgate includes two doors that open toprovide access to a passenger compartment within the vehicle. Thedisclosed tailgate system is a power, split door system that comprises afirst vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position andan open position and a second vehicle door arranged to articulatebetween a closed position and an open position. It is also disclosed touse first and second drive means for moving the first and second doors,respectively, between the closed and open positions; and a control meansfor controlling the first and second drive means so as to controlmovement of the first and second doors between the open and closedpositions.

The present invention seeks to provide further improvements in the fieldof power split tailgate door systems which finds particular advantageousapplication in vehicles. The invention may be utilised in applicationsother than for vehicles.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the invention provide a control system, a powered split doorsystem for a vehicle, a program and a method as claimed in the appendedclaims.

According to another aspect of the invention for which protection issought, there is provided a powered split door system for a vehicle,comprising: a first vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closedposition and an open position; a second vehicle door arranged toarticulate between a closed position and an open position; first andsecond drive means for articulating the first and second vehicle doors,respectively, between the closed and open positions; and a control meansfor controlling the first and second drive means so as to controlmovement of the first and second doors between the open and closedpositions; wherein a collision zone is defined as a region of the doorsystem in which the first vehicle door and the second vehicle door couldpotentially come into contact with one another; wherein the controlmeans is configured to determine if both of the first and second vehicledoors are within a collision zone during powered articulation of thevehicle doors; and where, in the event that the first and second vehicledoors are both stopped within the collision zone during a poweredarticulation, the control means is configured to control the first andsecond drive means to articulate the first and second vehicle doors in areverse direction to the direction they were being articulated in andinto either their fully open or fully closed positions in an appropriatemanner that avoids collision of the first and second vehicle doors orthe control means is configured to maintain the first and second vehicledoors in a stopped condition.

Optionally, the first vehicle door partially overlaps the second vehicledoor, when the first and second vehicle doors are in their closedpositions and wherein the collision zone is defined based upon thegeometry of the first and second doors and includes an additionalmargin.

Optionally, wherein the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door andis disposed above the second vehicle door which is a lower tailgate doorand wherein said additional margin of the collision zone extends fromthe lowest position in which the upper and lower doors could contact oneanother to immediately above the closed position of the lower tailgatedoor.

Additionally, the positions of the first upper and second lower vehicledoors can be categorised as being in any one of: a closed position; thecollision zone; a wide open position; and a fully opened position andwherein the closed and fully open positions are single positions andwherein the collision zone and wide open position categories are rangesof positions and wherein no other position of either vehicle door ispossible.

Additionally or alternatively, the system comprises means for detectingthe presence of an obstacle extending out of a vehicle tailgate openingcreated when the first and second vehicle doors are at least partiallyopen and/or for detecting an obstacle external to the vehicle in theopening path of either the first and/or second vehicle doors.Preferably, upon detection of an obstacle during powered articulation ofone or both vehicle doors, the control means is configured to power stopthe or each vehicle door that has detected an obstacle and reverse thedirection of travel of the stopped vehicle door.

Optionally, where, in the event that the control means is controllingthe first and second drive means to power-articulate the first andsecond doors into their closed positions and an obstacle extending outof the vehicle opening is detected and both the first and second vehicledoors are stopped within the collision zone, the control means isconfigured to articulate each of the first and second vehicle doors intoits fully opened position.

Optionally, the control means is provided with positional informationrelating to each of the first and second vehicle doors; and wherein thecontrol means is configured to ensure that each of the first and secondvehicle doors do not attempt to occupy the same space at the same timeduring any powered articulation.

Optionally, the control means comprises a first control unit forcontrolling the first drive means and a second control unit forcontrolling the second drive means.

Optionally, the first control unit is supplied with positional data fromone or more sensors and/or the first drive means and/or from anothercontrol system within the vehicle such that the first control unit isprovided with positional information relating to the first vehicle door;the second control unit is supplied with positional data from one ormore sensors and/or the second drive means and/or from another controlsystem within the vehicle such that the second control unit is providedwith positional information relating to the second vehicle door; and thefirst and second control units are in communication with one another toexchange positional data relating to the first and second vehicle doorstherebetween such that each of the first and second control units isprovided with positional data relating to both the first and the secondvehicle doors.

Optionally, the first and second control units each receive positionaldata from sensors located on or within the first and second drive meansrespectively and wherein each of said sensors are Hall sensors.

Additionally, the first and second control units may each receivepositional data from a body control management unit within the vehicle,and wherein said positional data from the body control management unitmay be a determination that the first and/or second door is latched andis therefore located in its closed position.

Optionally, the first and second control units are each in communicationwith a controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle and thereby thefirst and second control units exchange positional data.

Optionally, the positional data exchanged by the first and secondcontrol units is categorised positional data.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof controlling a first vehicle door arranged to articulate between aclosed position and an open position; and a second vehicle door arrangedto articulate between a closed position and an open position, the methodcomprising:

-   -   (i) obtaining positional data relating to the first vehicle        door;    -   (ii) obtaining positional data relating to the second vehicle        door;    -   (iii) defining a collision zone;    -   (iv) monitoring the positional data relating to the first and        second vehicle doors and in the event that both the first and        second vehicle doors are stopped in the collision zone during a        powered articulation;    -   (vi) controlling the first and second drive means to articulate        the first and second vehicle doors in a reverse direction to the        direction they were being articulated in and into either their        fully open or fully closed positions in an appropriate manner        that avoids collision of the first and second vehicle doors or    -   (vii) maintaining the first and second vehicle doors in a        stopped condition.

Optionally, the method may comprise controlling the first and secondvehicle doors to move from an open position to a closed position and inthe event that both the first and second vehicle doors are stopped inthe collision zone, controlling the first and second drive means toarticulate the first and second vehicle doors in a reverse directioninto their fully open positions.

Further optionally, the first vehicle door partially overlaps the secondvehicle door when the first and second vehicle doors are in their closedpositions and wherein defining the collision zone includes consideringthe geometry of the first and second doors and includes adding a margin.

Additionally, the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door and isdisposed above the second vehicle door which is a lower tailgate doorand wherein said margin of the collision zone extends from the lowestposition in which the upper and lower doors could contact one another toimmediately above the closed position of the lower tailgate door.

Optionally, obtaining positional information relating to the first upperand second lower vehicle doors comprises categorising the position ofeach door as being in any one of: a closed position; the collision zone;a wide open position; and a fully opened position and wherein the closedand fully open positions are single positions, wherein the collisionzone and wide open position categories are ranges of positions andwherein no other position of either vehicle door is possible.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a power, split door system for a vehicle, comprising: a firstvehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and anopen position; a second vehicle door arranged to articulate between aclosed position and an open position; first and second drive means forarticulating the first and second vehicle doors, respectively, betweenthe closed and open positions; a control means for controlling the firstand second drive means so as to control movement of the first and seconddoors between the open and closed positions; and at least one sensorarranged to detect during closing of one or both doors whether there isan obstacle which could prevent closure of one or both doors, and ifsuch an obstacle is detected, the control system being configured tocontrol at least one of the first and second drive means to stopmovement of one or each door and then move the or each door in thereverse direction.

Optionally the control system is arranged to control the first andsecond drive means to move the or each door to substantially the fullyopen position. Optionally the or each sensor is provided on one of thevehicle doors.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of controlling a first vehicle door arranged toarticulate between a closed position and an open position; and a secondvehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and anopen position, the method comprising:

-   -   (i) during closure of one or both the first and second vehicle        doors, detecting whether there is an obstacle which could        prevent closure of one or both doors;    -   (ii) if such an obstacle is detected, controlling at least one        of the first and second drive means to articulate the one or        each of the first and second vehicle doors in the reverse        direction.

Optionally the method comprises controlling at least one of the firstand second drive means to move the or each door to substantially thefully open position.

Within the scope of this application it is expressly envisaged that thevarious aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in thepreceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following descriptionand drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may betaken independently or in any combination. Features described inconnection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unlesssuch features are incompatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by wayof example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle having a power split tailgate systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates articulation of an upper tailgate door to an openposition in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates articulation of both of an upper and lower tailgatedoor to an open position in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates articulation of an upper tailgate door in a partiallyopen position in the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5a-5d illustrate articulation of an upper tailgate door and alower tailgate door from a closed position, into a collision zone, intoa wide open position and into a fully open position; and

FIG. 6 illustrates schematically a control system comprised in thevehicle of FIG. 1.

To aid the understanding of the drawings in FIGS. 1 to 6, the followingtable is provided:

Reference Numeral Brief Description of Feature 10 vehicle 12 Splittailgate system 14 first vehicle door 16 second vehicle door 18controller 20 Remote control fob 24 Fixed upper tailgate open/closedashboard button 28 Vehicle button included on the outside portion ofthe upper tailgate to control opening and closing of the upper tailgatedoor 30 Vehicle button included on the interior of the upper tailgatedoor to control opening of the upper tailgate door and closing of bothof the upper and lower tail gate doors 32 Vehicle button included on theupper ledge of the lower tailgate to control open and closing of thelower tailgate door 34 dashboard 40a, 40b Upper drive mechanism 42 Lowerdrive mechanism 50 Cover 52 Storage area 54 Rear seat 56 bottom of theupper tailgate door 58 top of the rear seat 66 latch 68 Striker 70 Lip72 Upper ledge of lower tailgate 74 exterior portion of the upper door76 exterior portion of the lower door 80 fob button to unlock vehicle)83 Body Control Management Unit (BCM) 85 First Control Unit for upperdrive mechanism 87 Second Control Unit for lower drive mechanism 89Controller Area Network (CAN) 90a, 90b, Sensors on upper drive 90c, 90dmechanism 90e, 90f Sensors on lower drive mechanism

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle 10 having a split tailgate system 12according to an optional embodiment of the present invention in a closedposition. The split tailgate system 12 may be an electrically drivensystem configured to articulate a first vehicle door 14, (which in thisillustrated arrangement is an upper tailgate door 14) and a secondvehicle door 16, (which in this illustrated arrangement is a lowertailgate door 16) between fully open and closed positions. It will berecognised that in other embodiments, the first and second doors 14, 16may be differently oriented and may not be “upper” and “lower” doors assuch, for example, in other embodiments, the first and second doors 14,16 may be in a side-by-side position.

FIGS. 2-5 d illustrate the power or automatic movement of one or both ofthe upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 between closed and openpositions. As shown, in the closed position, the upper tailgate door 14overlaps the lower tailgate door 16 such that the upper tailgate door 14must be at least partially opened before the lower tailgate door 16 canbe opened (see FIG. 4). The lower tailgate door 16 has a height ‘HL’that is substantially smaller than the height ‘HU’ of the upper tailgatedoor 14. The height ‘HL’ of the lower door 16 may be between about 5%and about 30% of the height ‘HU’ of the upper tailgate door 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, a bottom portion 56 of the upper tailgate door 14includes a latch 66 that mates with a striker 68 included on a lip 70 ofthe lower tailgate door 16. A ledge 72 is positioned below the striker68 to cover the bottom 56 of the upper tailgate door 14 so that anexterior portion 74 of the upper door 14 is optionally flush with anexterior portion 76 of the lower door 16 (dependent upon vehicle design)when both doors 14, 16 are closed (see FIG. 1). To open the lowertailgate door 16, the upper tailgate door 14 must be at least partiallyopened, at least until the lip 70 is able to articulate past the bottom56 of the upper tailgate door 14 (see FIG. 4), and then the lowertailgate door 16 may be articulated to its open position (see FIG. 3).Depending on the size and shape of the upper and lower tailgate doors14, 16, in an at least partially opened position sufficient to allowopening of the lower tailgate door 16, an angle of articulation θ of theupper door 14 may be from approximately 10° to approximately 25° or,alternatively, as much as 25% of the total possible angle ofarticulation θ_(max) of the upper door 14 (between its closed and openpositions). Optionally, once the lower tailgate door 16 is clear of theupper tailgate door 14, the upper tailgate door 14 may be automaticallyarticulated back to its closed position or it may remain in a partiallyopen or fully open position.

Optionally, and as shown in more detail in FIG. 3, a compartment cover50 may be included with a storage area 52 to extend rearwardly from arear seat 54 to the tailgate doors 14, 16. The compartment cover 50 maybe positioned above a bottom 56 of the upper tailgate door 14 whenclosed and below a top 58 of the rear seat 54 in order to separate thestorage area 52 into upper and lower storage portions.

A control system 18 may be included within the vehicle 10 to controltailgate doors 14, 16 opening and closing. The control system 18 ispreferably, but nevertheless optionally, configured to independentlycontrol movements of the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16. Thecontrol system 18 may be configured to include an upper mode controlsequence (shown in FIG. 2) where the upper door 14 is actuated to afully open position while the lower door 16 remains closed.Additionally, the control system 18 may be configured to include adual-open-mode control sequence (shown in FIG. 3) where both of theupper and lower doors 14, 16 are simultaneously articulated into a fullyopen position. Depending on the shape of the doors 14, 16, this mayinclude articulating the upper door 14 slightly ahead of (i.e. before)the lower door 16 to avoid collision. The control system 18 may beconfigured to include a dual-close-mode (shown in FIG. 4) wherein boththe upper and lower doors 14, 16 are simultaneously articulating (albeitwith the lower tailgate door 16 moving before the upper tailgate door 14or faster than the upper tailgate door 14.)

Wireless messages from a remote control 20, such as but not limited to afob (also referred to as a smart key), may be used to instruct thecontrol system 18 to instigate a tailgate door control, such as, but notlimited to, the upper mode; the dual open mode and the dual-close-modedescribed above. Wireline or wireless signal messages from buttons 24,28, 30, 32 included within the vehicle cabin, for example positioned ona dashboard 34 and/or included on the exterior of the vehicle, forexample mounted to the first and/or second tailgate doors 14, 16 mayadditionally or alternatively be used to instruct the control system 18to open and/or close one or both of the tailgate doors 14, 16. Thecontrol system 18 may control operations of an upper drive mechanism 40a, 40 b (optionally comprising a powered extensible strut mechanism oneither side of the upper tailgate door 14—see FIG. 3) and a lower drivemechanism 42 in order to respectively control upper and lower tailgatedoor 14, 16 positioning.

With reference to FIG. 1, one of the buttons 24 may be an upper doorbutton (also referred to as an internal upper tailgate release switch),optionally included on the dashboard 34 that instructs the controlsystem 18 to open or to close the upper tailgate door 14. One or morebuttons 84 included on the fob 20 may mimic the functionality providedby the button 24 included within the dashboard 34 or may be providedwith different functionality dependent upon the timing of the actuationof the button 84 with respect to the immediately succeeding tailgatedoor control instruction and with respect to the status of the tailgatedoors 14, 16. For example, when both doors 14, 16 are open, fob 20button 84 may be used to initiate the dual-close-mode, whereas when bothdoors are closed, fob 20 button 84, may be used to initiate the uppermode control. As a further example, when the lower tailgate door 16 isopen and the upper door 14 is almost closed, actuation of the fob 20button 84 may then cause the upper tailgate door 14 to open.

The fob 20 may also include buttons 88, 80, 92 to instruct the controlsystem 18 to execute other vehicle functions, such as but not limited toa door unlock button 80, door lock button 88, and panic button 92, whichare commonly employed with remote keyless entry (RKE) related systems.The fob 20 may also perform other operations, such as but not limited topassive entry (PE), including passively supporting tailgate door controlsequences. Depression of the fob buttons 84, 88, 80, 92 may instruct thefob 20 to issue a specific message depending on the depressed button.

Another one of the vehicle buttons 28 (also referred to as an externalupper tailgate release switch) may be included on an outside portion 76of the upper tailgate 14 to control opening and closing of the uppertailgate door 14. Another vehicle button 30 (also referred to as acomplete close switch) may be included, optionally, on an interiorportion of the upper tailgate door 14 to provide easy button access whenthe upper tailgate door 14 is open. The complete close switch 30 may beused to effect complete closure of the tailgate 12 irrespective of thecurrent state of the tailgate doors 14, 16.

Another button 32 (also referred to as a lower tailgate open/closeswitch) may be used to control opening and closing of the lower tailgatedoor 16. This button 32 may be included on a ledge 72 such that it isconcealed from view when the upper door 14 is closed, which may behelpful in providing a more uniform rearward appearance for the vehicle10 than including the button on the exterior portion 74 of the lowertailgate door 16.

First (upper) and second (lower) drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42 areprovided which can be independently controlled to independentlyarticulate the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16. Because of theindependent drive mechanisms, the control system 18 of the presentinvention is able to sequence tailgate door 14, 16 movements in anysuitable manner.

The upper and lower drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42 may each comprisedrive units, optionally comprising struts or spindles (not shown).Sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f may be disposed on or withinthe upper and lower drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42. The sensors 90 a,90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f will be described further below.

The upper and lower drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42 are optionallypositioned, for exemplary purposes, within a drain channel 46 around anouter perimeter of the upper tailgate door 14 and within an enclosure ofthe lower tailgate door 16 that may or may not be watertight.

Referring to FIG. 6, the control system 18 for controlling independentarticulation of the tailgate doors 14, 16 may comprise a Body ControlManagement Unit (BCM) 83; a first control unit 85 for controlling thefirst drive mechanism 40 a, 40 b that articulates the first (or upper)tailgate door 14; and a second control unit 87 for controlling thesecond drive mechanism 42 that articulates the second (or lower)tailgate door 16. A Controller Area Network (CAN) provided within thevehicle 10 may be used to convey or exchange information from and/or toeach of the BCM 83, first control unit 85 and second control unit 87. Inthis way the BCM 83, first control unit 85 and second control unit 87can communicate with one another. In other envisaged embodiments, thecontrol system 18 may not comprise a BCM 83. However, advantageously,the BCM 83 provides a convenient mechanism by which any instructionsignals issued by the remote fob 20 and/or remote buttons 24 and/orexterior vehicle mounted buttons 28, 30, 32 can be verified and/orpre-acted upon before being passed onto the first and/or second controlunits 85, 87. For example, when the tailgate doors 14, 16 are bothclosed and the fob 20 button 84 is actuated, before the first and secondcontrol units 85, 87 are instructed to articulate the upper and lowerdoors 14, 16 to the open position, the authenticity of the fob 20 mayfirst be verified and then the security latch mechanism 66/68 may beunlocked so that the tailgate doors 14, 16 can actually be opened.

A beneficial aspect of the present invention is that the control system18 is provided with real-time positional data relating to the positionof each of the first and second tailgate doors 14, 16. Positionalinformation may be obtained by using one or more sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f. The sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f mayoptionally be disposed on or within each of the first and second drivemechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42. In an embodiment, each drive mechanism 40 a,40 b, 42 (not shown in detail) comprises an extensible strut and a driveunit for powering the strut (which comprises an electric motor). TwoHall sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f are disposed within thepower strut drive units 40 a, 40 b, 42 and provide a signal optionallyat about every half rotation of a spindle of the electric motor. Thenumber of rotations of the spindle is proportional to the amount ofmovement of the tailgate door. The Hall sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 ddisposed within the drive mechanism 40 a, 40 b for the first tailgatedoor 14 optionally transmit data signals directly to the first controlunit 85. The Hall sensors 90 e, 90 f disposed within the drive mechanism42 for the second tailgate door 16 optionally transmit data signalsdirectly to the second control unit 87.

The first and second control units 85, 87 are configured to count thesignals issued by the Hall sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 fand from that Hall count the first and second control units 85, 87 caneach derive or determine an at least approximate absolute or relativeposition of the tailgate door 14, 16 they are controlling.

When the upper and/or lower tailgate door 14, 16 is latched in a closedposition definitive data regarding the position of that latched door isknown. This positional data can be communicated by the latch mechanism68, optionally directly to the BCM 83. In the control system 18 of anembodiment, the BCM 83 is coupled to a CAN 89 and thereby can exchangeor transfer data with or to the first and second control units 85, 87(see FIG. 6). The latch mechanism 66/68 may optionally communicatedirectly with the second control unit 87. (In other embodiments, thelatch mechanism 66/68 may communicate only with the BCM 83, only withthe first control unit 85 or only with the second control unit 87 or maycommunicate with any combination of them. Referring to FIG. 6, any orall of the fob 20 and buttons 24, 28, 32, 30 may communicate with (byissuing signals to) the BCM 83 and/or one or both of the first andsecond control units 85, 87.

In FIGS. 1 and 5 a both the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 areshown as latched. The fully closed position of the upper tailgate door14 (optionally as indicated by the striker 68) may be referred to asFC14; and the fully closed position of the lower tailgate door 16 may bereferred to as FC16.

From the latched position (FIG. 5a ), if a tailgate door 14, 16 isarticulated by its control unit 85, 87, the Hall sensors from theappropriate drive mechanism 40 a, 40 b, 42 will issue a data signal tothe control unit 85, 87 connected thereto. As the Hall countprogressively increases, each control unit 85, 87 tracks the position ofthe moving tailgate door 14, 16 it is controlling. In FIG. 5b , it isillustrated that a command or instruction has been issued to the controlsystem 18 to open the upper tailgate door 14 (optionally via the fob 20;internal upper tailgate release switch 24; or external upper tailgaterelease switch 28). Optionally, subsequently an instruction has beenissued to the control system 18 to open the lower tailgate door 16(optionally via external lower tailgate open/close switch 32).(Alternatively a dual-open-mode may be initiated by a button or the fob20 in another envisaged embodiment).

The optional provision of only a restricted access button 32 foractivating opening articulation of the lower tailgate door 16 optionallyensures that during an opening sequence, the articulation of the uppertailgate door 14 must be commenced before the automatic articulation ofthe lower tailgate door 16 can be commenced. Additionally, optionalprovision of only a restricted access button 32 for activating openingarticulation of the lower tailgate door 16 may mitigate againstpotential loss of cargo disposed in the storage area 52 that couldotherwise result if both the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 couldbe power-opened automatically by a remotely positioned actuator (the fob20 or internal button). In the optional embodiment illustrated, toaccess the restricted access button 32 for activating openingarticulation of the lower tailgate door 16 a user of the vehicle 10 mustbe positioned in reasonably close proximity to the lower tailgate door16 and storage area 52. Therefore actuation of the button 32 foractivating opening articulation of the lower tailgate door 16 is likelyto be a deliberate, managed and suitable command. In other embodimentsof the invention, automatic opening articulation of the lower tailgatedoor 16 may be effected by the fob 20 button 84; an interior vehiclebutton; and/or an exterior vehicle mounted button (access to which mayor may not be restricted by the upper tailgate 14 in its closedposition). In other embodiments, the control system 18 of the presentinvention is nevertheless configured to control the upper and lowertailgate doors 14, 16 by means of the first and second drive mechanisms40 a, 40 b, 42 and their control units 85, 87 to ensure that nocollision of the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 occurs.

Referring again to FIG. 5b , the upper tailgate door 14 has beenarticulated before the lower tailgate door 16. A further beneficialaspect of the present invention is that a collision zone ‘CZ’ isdefined. This is the region in which there is a risk of collision of theupper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 (if they are not suitablycontrolled). Preferably, the definition of the collision zone ‘CZ’,whilst based to some extent at least upon the geometry of the tailgatedoors 14, 16, includes a safety margin or tolerance either side of thegeometric locations at which the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16have the potential to collide. Optionally, the collision zone ‘CZ’ maybe defined in terms of a Hall count range for each of the lower andupper doors 14, 16. When the upper tailgate door 14 is disposed withinthe collision zone ‘CZ’, the position of the upper tailgate door 14 maybe referred to as PC14. When the lower tailgate door 16 is disposedwithin the collision zone ‘CZ’, the position of the lower tailgate door16 may be referred to as PC16.

During the commanded opening operation, the tailgate doors 14, 16 arefurther articulated from the collision zone ‘CZ’ to wide open positionsand their positions continue to be tracked by the first and secondcontrol units 85, 87 respectively (using the Hall sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f and incrementally counting the movement of spindleof the drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42). After moving out of thecollision zone ‘CZ’, but not yet having reached a fully open position,the position of the upper tailgate door 14 may be referred to as thewide open position or WO14. Similarly, after moving out of the collisionzone ‘CZ’, but not yet having reached a fully open position, theposition of the lower tailgate door 16 may be referred to as the wideopen position or WO16 (see FIG. 5c ).

As the tailgate doors 14, 16 are further articulated from the wide openpositions WO14, WO16 to fully open positions, their positions continueto be tracked by the first and second control units 85, 87 respectively,using the Hall sensors 90 a, 90 b, 90 c, 90 d, 90 e, 90 f andincrementally counting the internal movement of the drive mechanisms 40a, 40 b, 42. When the fully open position of the upper tailgate door 14is reached (which may be referred to as the fully open position orFO14—see FIG. 5d ), the commanded operation of the upper tailgate door14 is completed. To effect further automatic operation a user of thevehicle 10 needs to issue a further command to the control system 18,using the fob 20, or other suitable control button, (i.e. the internalupper tailgate release switch 24, or the complete close switch 30).Similarly, when the fully open position of the lower tailgate door 16 isreached (which may be referred to as the fully open position or FO16—seeFIG. 5d ) the commanded operation of the lower tailgate door 16 iscompleted. To effect further power or automatic operation, a user of thevehicle 10 needs to issue a further command to the control system 18,using the fob 20 or other suitable control button, (i.e. the lowertailgate open/close switch 32, or the complete close switch 30).

In some embodiments, the fully open position FO14 of the upper tailgate14 may not equate to the full extent of travel permitted by a hingemechanism (not shown), but may be limited, optionally, to about 98%.(The full extent of travel permitted by the upper tailgate door 14 maybe a user defined parameter). Restriction of the full extent of travelmay be beneficial in order to minimise wear on the hinge; to mitigateagainst the noise that may be made when the upper tailgate door reachesand/or contacts a physical hinge limit; and/or to ensure that theoperation of the upper tailgate 14 is smooth. Optionally, the lowertailgate door 14 is permitted to reach the full extent of travelpermitted by its hinge mechanism (not shown) or may be limited by cablestays.

A command to close the upper and or lower tailgate doors 14, 16 (which,for example, may be issued by a user actuating the button 84 on the fob20 or actuating the complete close switch 30) results in the controlsystem 18 instructing the first and second drive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b,42 (optionally via the first and second control units 85, 87) tosequentially return the tailgate doors 14, 16 to their closed positions.From the FIG. 5d position, both tailgate doors 14, 16 may be movedsimultaneously. However, the lower tailgate 16 may be articulated at afaster angular velocity such that it reaches its closed position beforethe upper tailgate door 14 has even entered the collision zone ‘CZ’.Alternatively, from the FIG. 5d position, the lower tailgate door 16 maybe moved before the upper tailgate door 14 is moved to mitigate againstcollision and to ensure that both tailgate doors 14, 16 can be properlyclosed.

In the present embodiment, before the control system 18 instructs thefirst and/or second drive mechanism 40, 42 to carry out any command thatis has been signalled to perform by a user actuating any one of theoptional buttons 20, 22, 24, 28, 30, 32, the control system 18 isconfigured to determine whether the command can or should be carriedout. Then, once the command is accepted and is being carried out, thefirst control unit 85 continually gathers positional data relating tothe upper tailgate door 14 and the second control unit 87 continuallygathers positional data relating the lower tailgate door 16. Thegathered positional data is then shared, optionally via each of thefirst and second control units 85, 87 exchanging data on the CAN 89 suchthat each of the control units 85, 87 has knowledge about the real-timeposition of each tailgate door 14, 16.

Optionally, the positional data gathered may be absolute positional dataor relative positional data. Optionally, the positional data may becategorised as it is gathered by the control system 18 and only thecategorised positional data may be shared between control units 85, 87.Optionally, the positional data may be categorised as described abovesuch that each tailgate door 14, 16 will, at any moment in time, be inone of the following four positions: CLOSED (FC14, FC16); COLLISION ZONE(PC14, PC16); WIDE OPEN (WO14, WO16); FULLY OPEN (FO14, FO16). Thecontrol system 18 may also, optionally, at least temporarily, store datarelating to any one or more of: the last command issued to it; thedirection of travel (toward open or toward close) of each tailgate door14, 16.

Because a user of the vehicle 10 can manually position both of the upperand lower tailgate doors 14, 16 and/or because powered operation can beinterrupted by an obstacle and/or because powered operation can beinterrupted by a user issuing another command during an operatingsequence, the control system of the present invention is advantageouslyconfigured to mitigate against or prevent collision of the tailgatedoors 14, 16 (within the collision zone ‘CZ’). The following describedhow the control system 18 may be configured in some embodiments.

When any acceptable open command is issued (open upper tailgate door 14only; open lower tailgate door 16 only or open both tailgate doors 14,16), the stationary starting position PC14, PC16 of both the upper andlower tailgate doors 14, 16 may be within the collision zone ‘CZ’. Inthis circumstance, the control system 18 is configured not to take anyaction and not to permit any automatic power movement of either tailgatedoor 14, 16. The tailgate system 12 will remain in the same positionuntil a user manually moves at least one of the tailgate doors 14, 16out of the collision zone ‘CZ’.

Similarly, when any acceptable close command is issued (close uppertailgate door 14 only; close lower tailgate door 16 only or close bothtailgate doors 14, 16), the stationary starting position PC14, PC16 ofboth the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16 may be within thecollision zone ‘CZ’. (This situation could arise because a user of thevehicle 10 has manually positioned both of the upper and lower tailgatedoors 14, 16 within the collision zone ‘CZ’). In this circumstance, thecontrol system 18 is configured not to take any action and will not topermit any automatic power movement of either tailgate door 14, 16. Thetailgate system 12 will remain in the same position until a usermanually moves at least one of the tailgate doors 14, 16 out of thecollision zone ‘CZ’.

The control system 18 is configured such that if during a commandsequence, the upper tailgate door 14 adopts a stationary position PC14within the collision zone ‘CZ’, then the other lower tailgate door 16either will be stopped from automatically moving any further or itsdirection of travel will be reversed. Similarly, the control system 18is configured such that if during a command sequence, the lower tailgatedoor 16 adopts a stationary position PC16 within the collision zone‘CZ’, then either the other upper tailgate door 14 will be stopped fromautomatically moving any further or its direction of travel will bereversed.

The control system 18 is further configured such that if during acommand sequence, the upper tailgate door 14 adopts a stationaryposition PZ14 within the collision zone ‘CZ’ and the lower tailgate door16 adopts a stationary position PZ16 within the collision zone ‘CZ’then, rather than prevent further powered movement of either tailgatedoor 14, 16 until a user manually addresses the situation, morepreferably, both tailgate doors 14, 16 are reversed. In the presentembodiment the doors are reversed until they are fully open or fullyclosed, depending on their direction of movement before they adopted astationary position, i.e. before they were stopped. In an alternativeembodiment, the doors are reversed to positions which are no longer inthe collision zone. These positions may not necessarily be fully open orfully closed positions. The control system 18 is optionally additionallyconfigured such that if an obstacle is detected by either the upper orlower tailgate door 14, 16 then that tailgate door is power stopped. Thecontrol system 18 optionally may then reverse the direction of thestopped tailgate door.

In the specific situation where an obstacle is extending, for example,out of the opening ‘O’ and the obstacle is detected by the uppertailgate door 14 and/or the lower tailgate door 16 as those doors areclosing 14, 16 the control system 18 is configured to powerstop bothtailgate doors 14, 16 and then, rather than preventing further poweredmovement of either tailgate door 14, 16 until a user manually addressesthe situation (optionally because both doors 14, 16 are within thecollision zone ‘CZ’), in an optional beneficial aspect of the invention,preferably, both tailgate doors 14, 16 are powered to move in thereverse direction and are opened to the fully open position F014, F016.In an alternative embodiment, the or each door may again be powered tomove in a reverse direction, but to a position which is not fully open,i.e. to a position intermediate between the position at which the dooris stopped and the fully open position. The or each door may be moved ina reverse direction until in a substantially fully open position, thatis a position which is close to fully open, and would appear to the useras fully open. The obstacle may not be detected by the tailgate door,but by a sensor or sensors positioned elsewhere.

It will be recognised upon reading the present description that many andvarious configurations for the control system 18 are suitable. In otherembodiments it is envisaged that the control system 18 will compriseonly one control unit that is connected to both the first and seconddrive mechanisms 40 a, 40 b, 42 for the upper and lower tailgate doors14, 16 and which is nevertheless configured to carry out the controlsequences described herein and/or otherwise independently control thearticulation of the upper and lower tailgate doors 14, 16. Within thecontrol system 18 one or more devices, sensors and/or control units maycommunicate with one another to ensure that each aspect of the controlsystem 18 that controls a drive mechanism 40 a, 40 b, 42 for one of thetailgate doors 14, 16 is provided with positional information relatingto both of the tailgate doors 14, 16. Many and various suitable forms ofcommunication are envisaged for the various components of the controlsystem 18 and the sensors, devices and/or other control units that thecontrol system 18 communicates with. Data signals may be transmitted viawired or wireless links and may be transmitted directly or indirectly(for example via a CAN) as is suitable.

It will be recognised that data signals may be issued continuously ordiscretely and where data signals are issued discretely they will beissued with a frequency that is sufficient (relative to the speed ofmovement of the tailgate doors 14, 16) that the data signals can betreated as being issued in “real-time”.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the presentinvention. The features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments of the invention.

It is envisaged that in other embodiments, a different mechanism may beused for tracking the position of each tail gate door. For example, acamera could be positioned on the inside of the tailgate door 14, 16 andin dependence upon what it sees within the vehicle 10 the position ofthe tailgate door may be determined. Furthermore, an ultrasound sensoror infra-red sensor may be used on the tailgate and by monitoring theecho response of a transmitted pulse the angle of the sensor and thenhence the position of the tailgate door may be determined. Any suitablecombination of sensors in addition or alternative to the Hall sensorsdescribed may be used.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thescope of the invention.

The methods, algorithms and control processes described herein can bemachine implemented. The methods, algorithms and control processesdescribed herein can be implemented on one or more computationaldevice(s) comprising one or more processors, for example, an electronicmicroprocessor. Such processor(s) may be configured to performcomputational instructions stored in memory or in a storage deviceaccessible by the processor(s).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A power, split door system for a vehicle, comprising: a first vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; a second vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; first and second drive mechanisms for articulating the first and second vehicle doors, respectively, between the closed and open positions; and a controller for controlling the first and second drive mechanisms so as to control movement of the first and second doors between the open and closed positions; wherein a collision zone is defined as a region of the door system in which the first vehicle door and the second vehicle door could potentially come into contact with one another; wherein the controller is configured to determine if both of the first and second vehicle doors is within a collision zone during powered articulation of the vehicle doors; and where, in the event that the first and second vehicle doors are both stopped within the collision zone during a powered articulation, the controller is configured to: a) control the first and/or second drive mechanisms to articulate one or both of the first and second vehicle doors out of the collision zone in a manner that avoids collision of the first and second vehicle doors; b) control the first and/or second drive mechanisms to articulate one or both of the first and second vehicle doors in a reverse direction to the direction they were being articulated in and into either their fully open or fully closed positions in an appropriate manner that avoids collision of the first and second vehicle doors; or c) maintain the first and second vehicle doors in a stopped condition.
 2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the first vehicle door partially overlaps the second vehicle door, when the first and second vehicle doors are in their closed positions and wherein the collision zone is defined based upon the geometry of the first and second doors and includes an additional margin.
 3. A system according to claim 2 wherein the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door and is disposed above the second vehicle door which is a lower tailgate door and wherein said additional margin of the collision zone extends from the lowest position in which the upper and lower doors could contact one another to immediately above the closed position of the lower tailgate door.
 4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a first control unit for controlling the first drive mechanism and a second control unit for controlling the second drive mechanism.
 5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises means for detecting the presence of an obstacle extending out of a vehicle opening created when the first and second vehicle doors are at least partially open and/or for detecting an obstacle external to the vehicle in the opening path of either the first and/or second vehicle doors.
 6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the means for detecting comprises one or more of: a Hall sensor, a camera, an ultrasound sensor and an infrared sensor.
 7. A system according to claim 1, wherein, in the event that powered articulation of the first and second vehicle doors is interrupted when the controller is controlling the first and second drive mechanisms to articulate the first and second vehicle doors into their respective closed positions, the controller is configured to reverse the direction of articulation of the first and second vehicle doors and to articulate the first and second vehicle doors to their respective fully open positions.
 8. A system according to claim 1, wherein, in the event that powered articulation of the first and second vehicle doors is interrupted when the controller is controlling the first and second drive mechanisms to articulate the first and second vehicle doors into their respective open positions, the controller is configured to stop articulation of the first and second vehicle doors and maintain the first and second vehicle doors in a stopped condition.
 9. A power, split door system for a vehicle, comprising: a first vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; a second vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; first and second drive mechanisms for articulating the first and second vehicle doors, respectively, between the closed and open positions; and a controller for controlling the first and second drive mechanisms so as to control movement of the first and second doors between the open and closed positions; wherein the system is operable in a dual open mode in which the controller is configured to control the first and second drive mechanisms to articulate the first and second vehicle doors from their respective fully closed positions to respective open positions, and wherein operation of the system in the dual open mode comprises articulating the first and second vehicle doors simultaneously, wherein the second vehicle door is articulated at a greater velocity than the first vehicle door.
 10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to commence articulation of the first vehicle door before the second vehicle door.
 11. A system according to claim 9, wherein the respective open positions of the first and second vehicle doors correspond to respective fully open positions of the first and second vehicle doors.
 12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the door system is a power split tailgate system of a vehicle, wherein the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door and the second vehicle door is a lower tailgate door, wherein the fully open position of the upper tailgate is less than the full extent of travel of a hinge mechanism of the upper tailgate and/or wherein the fully open position of the lower tailgate is equal to the full extent of travel of a hinge mechanism of the lower tailgate.
 13. A system according to claim 9, wherein the door system is a power split tailgate system of a vehicle, wherein the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door and the second vehicle door is a lower tailgate door.
 14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the lower tailgate door is articulated at a greater angular velocity that the upper tailgate door.
 15. A power, split door system for a vehicle, comprising: a first vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; a second vehicle door arranged to articulate between a closed position and an open position; first and second drive mechanisms for articulating the first and second vehicle doors, respectively, between the closed and open positions; and a controller for controlling the first and second drive mechanisms so as to control movement of the first and second doors between the open and closed positions; wherein the system is operable in a dual close mode in which the controller is configured to control the first and second drive mechanisms to articulate the first and second vehicle doors from respective open positions to their respective closed positions, and wherein operation of the system in the dual close mode comprises articulating the first and second vehicle doors simultaneously, wherein the second vehicle door is articulated at a greater velocity than the first vehicle door.
 16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to commence articulation of the second vehicle door before the first vehicle door.
 17. A system according to claim 15, wherein the respective open positions of the first and second vehicle doors correspond to respective fully open positions of the first and second vehicle doors.
 18. A system according to claim 15, wherein the door system is a power split tailgate system of a vehicle, wherein the first vehicle door is an upper tailgate door and the second vehicle door is a lower tailgate door.
 19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the lower tailgate door is articulated at a greater angular velocity that the upper tailgate door.
 20. A vehicle comprising a power split door system according to claim
 1. 